sexta-feira, 3 de outubro de 2008

Video game company SEGA have produced TV ads for their new music game Samba de Amigo which features a chimpanzee.

SEGA describe the game as “a samba inspired rhythm game where you'll need to keep in time with the beat. Using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk like a pair of maracas, it's all about having a great time while shaking along to plenty of classic party songs”.

The ads feature a chimp playing alongside humans in shaking the game controls, dancing on a table and ‘break dancing’.

The Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) has long campaigned to stop animals being used in commercials, given the damage it does to animal welfare and conservation.

We are still trying to obtain details of who supplied the chimp for these ads. There is evidence from previous investigations of young chimpanzees being taken from their mothers at an early age and having their teeth removed to stop them biting, or trained by electric-shock collars – just so they can be used in adverts and films. When the chimpanzees reach the end of their useful life - probably before their teens - they are sentenced to 40 years or more of captivity where their welfare cannot be guaranteed.

A recent study published in the journal Science concluded: “The inappropriate portrayal of great apes in advertisements undermines the scientific, welfare and conservation goals” that many organisations work hard to achieve. The study found that 34% of people questioned did not realise chimps were endangered, with many basing this belief on the media use of chimps and seeing them as pets.

CAPS has already persuaded several companies to stop using animals in commercials, so please contact SEGA today, encouraging them to pledge not to exploit animals in future ads.

Dr Jane Goodall, who has spent her life campaigning for apes, said: "Chimpanzees and other apes suffer horribly for society's entertainment. It is time to move beyond the misuse of creatures who are vulnerable to our exploitation precisely because they are so like us.”